Friday marks the International Day of Forests, as designated by the United Nations.
While the world celebrates the many ways trees and forests help sustain human and animal life, deforestation poses a significant threat to these vital ecosystems, both in the United States and abroad.
Billions of people across the world rely directly on trees for food and resources, according to the U.N., including in 85% of major cities where forested watersheds provide their freshwater.
But, the organization warns that 10 million hectares of forest are intentionally destroyed annually. Another 70 million hectares are impacted by fires, which experts say are being made worse by the ongoing climate crisis.
In the United States, efforts from past administrations to better protect the environment, including initiatives to plant more trees, have come under scrutiny by the Trump administration.
This month, President Trump signed executive orders aimed at aggressively ramping up the nation's timber production. He framed the importation of wood products as a potential national security threat.
One order issued on March 1 stated, "The United States faces significant vulnerabilities in the wood supply chain from imported timber, lumber, and their derivative products being dumped onto the United States market."
"Unfair subsidies and foreign government support for foreign timber, lumber, and their derivative products necessitate action under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to determine whether imports of these products threaten to impair national security," it continued
Another order, signed on the same day, includes provisions to sidestep the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which seeks to protect the habitats of endangered animals from destruction.
And last month, citing the president's pledge to eliminate federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the Trump administration decided to rescind an anticipated $75 million in grant funding. This funding would have supported urban areas in planting shade-bearing trees in about 100 cities to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
As NPR previously reported, the U.S. Forest Service announced the termination of the program in a letter, stating it "no longer aligns with agency priorities regarding diversity, equity and inclusion." Its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said this decision was made in accordance with President Trump's executive orders.
These decisions are already impacting the people who work in related fields.
Katherine Wong-Valesco works at Mast Reforestation, a West Coast-based company that replants areas affected by wildfires.
Her company, she said, relies on funding from various sources, including landowners who receive government cash to help support their reforestation initiatives.
"Big companies, they're also very cautious about what Trump is trying to do," she said.
"When the government is not supporting these kind of initiatives, the companies, they have to be careful. They have no obligation – it's just some feel good thing that they can put in PR, and now even the government is not supporting."
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